2 die on first day of Biketoberfest

The 14th annual motorcycle event in Daytona Beach is off to a deadly start.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Two motorcyclists were killed Thursday, the first day of the city's annual Biketoberfest.

An unidentified motorcyclist from Sanford was heading south on State Road 415 in Deltona at 5:41 p.m. when a Scion xA turned left off Fort Smith Boulevard and struck his Honda road bike, said Trooper Mitch Henderson of the Florida Highway Patrol.

Chris S. Seagle, 41, of Deltona didn't see the biker coming because a dump truck blocked his view as it was turning right onto Fort Smith Boulevard from S.R. 415, Henderson said. Seagle faces charges for violating the right of way, officials said.

"There was no way he was going to see that bike," said Randy LaBonte, 35, who was driving the dump truck for Honest Irrigation & Landscaping. "That's why you don't turn when you can't see."

The motorcyclist, who was wearing a helmet, was airlifted to Halifax Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, officials said. No one else was injured.

Less than two hours later, a 44-year-old biker from Alaska was found dead in Daytona Beach near Wild Olive Avenue and East International Speedway Boulevard, said Lt. John King of the Daytona Beach Fire Department.

Witnesses said the unidentified man was heading east on International Speedway Boulevard when he slumped over and hit a curb, King said.

The two incidents marked the first fatalities of this year's festival. Last year there were five deaths during the four-day event. Four of the five deaths in 2005 happened on S.R. 415.

Tourism officials expect up to 100,000 bikers for the 14th annual motorcycle rally, which started in Daytona, but, like the larger springtime Bike Week, has grown into a regional event.